Making water-closet seats and lids



Sept. 21 1926. I 1,600,777

- C. PFAU I MAKING WATER CLOSET SEATS AND LIDS Filed June 9, 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet l 1 A TTQ/a/VEY Sept. 21, 1926. 1,600,777

C. PF AU MAKING WAT ER CLOSET SEATS AND LIDS File ne 9, 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 wgw ATTO RN Y a I. y 35 m mvw/a Mai Y 5 Sept. 21, 1926.

6. PFAU MAKING WATER QLOSET SEATS AND LIDS Filed June 9, 1924 '3 Sheets-Sheet s ATTORNEY.

Patented Sept. 21, 1926.

oI A t Es r sen, or CINCINNATI, OHIO.

-. MAKING WATER-CLOSET SEATS AND .LIDS.

A pl cati n filed June 9,

Myinvention relates tothe art of making Water closet seats and lids particularly adapted. for use on water closets and it relates to the. seat and lid as an article of manufacture.

The objects of my invention are to pro "vid-e a new process adapted to reduce the construction; and to provide a new process whereby a water closet seatand lid are simultaneously made from the same piece or pieces of material.

.My invention consists in forming a water closet seat out of a given quantity ofi naterial, such as a board or a plurality'of boards suitablydoweled, or otherwise'secured together and then forming t'helid out of that. portion .of the material which is cut to form the hole or opening in the seat. 7

My invention also consists in the means employed, and in the several steps whereby.

the completed seat and lid are formed, as herein setflforth and claimed.

v Heretofore in the manufacture of Water closetv seats and lidsit has been the prace tice to form a board. ofv requisite. area and thickness and cut a hole therein to form the seat," or to secure. several pieces together in rectangular or other form leaving ahole therein, which when enlarged and rounded out forms the hole in the seat. Therutout portions were discarded as waste material and the lid Was formed by cutting another piece of material, of suitable area and thickness, to the required size and shape for-that purpose.

Inasmuch as lumber is constantly becoming more scarce and consequently more eX- pensive the utilization of substantially the entire quantity of material for both the lid, and seat, by simultaneously forming'the lid by the operation of cutting a hole in the material to form the seat, manufacturers are enabled to make a high grade water closet seat and lid, by the use of my process, at considerably less than the usual cost.

In the drawings: F ig. l 'is a plan view' of ,a dimensional board; I r

-Fig. 2 'i s an'edgeelevation of the same;- Fig. 3 is a plan view of a dimensional tions afterthe seat water closet lid; Q I I Y I Fig. 14 is ,a longitudinal section taken on 7 modified method 1924, sr aino. "718,342.

board showing the relative position of dowel holes therein;

v F ig; 4 is an edge elevation of the same; F1 5 1s a plan view of .a dimensional board showingthe relative position of dowel holes therein and showing the board partly formed; g I y p Fig. 6 isan inner; edgeuelevationof the same; v Big. 7 is a plan View of the partly formed board showingthe relative position of the dowel'holes therein; with the outside edge partly shaped;

Fig. 8 is an inside edge View of the same and showing the tool for shaping the outside edge; 3 i

Fig. 9 is a plan View showing one-half of the formed {and shaped board and relative position of the dowel holes therein, and with the lid part ly formed; Y

"Fig. is a planv view of .a completed water closet seat, formed from two seat pore from the lid portions; M

Fig. 11' is an inside edge viewof Fig. v9 and showing the boring tool in position-for, partly forming the top of the lid by cutting away excess material and'partly forming the hole in the seat; l

-Fig. 1.2 .is, an insi the same as in Fig. .9 and with the lid; pore tionseparated from the seat portion and portions are separated de edge view showing showing the relative position of .a saw or other ,tool for performing the operation Fig. 18 is a plan a line corresponding to li.1a in Figs. 10 and 1 3 andshowing the lid in closed position upon the seat; j

Fig. '15 is ,a plan view showingv a modified view of a completed method of making a water closet seat and lid; V I

Fig. 16 IS a plan view showing another 7 of making ;a watercloset seat :and lid; V

F 1g. '17 1s a section taken on spending to 17--17. in Fig.16; Fig. 18 is a plan view of mylfinished open front'water closet seat.;:,and

v Fig. 19 vis .a plan viewcof .Iny finished open front and rear water closet seat.

a line corre- In performing the operations .of mynew process of manufacturing water closet seats and lids .1n the preferred manner, I. profvide board 1, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, cut to the'required dimension. The board may comprise one or more pieces of material suitably connected together and consists of sufficient material from which to form onehalf of a seat and lid, respectively. After cutting board 1 to the required dimension, I drill dowel holes 2 and 3 in longitudinal inner edge 4 of the board and at right angles to the edge, as shown in-Figs. 3 and 4. The dowel holes 2 and 3 are positioned advantageously relative to ultimately connecting seat portion 5 and lid portion 6, respectively, with like cooperating lid portion and seat portion, respectively, as hereinafter explained. V

of a band saw, or other suit- 1 form the outer edge 7 of shown 'inFig. 5 in which edge a radius having a By the use able means, board 1, as a portion 8. is curved from center 9 centrally disposed longitudinally of the board and approxlmately positioned adjacent edge 4: thereof. The edge 8 extends from inner corner 10 of the board and then to the longitudinal center 11 of the board adjacent edge 12 and then extends further to a point which is determined by drawing line 13 from. centrally disposed point 14: of transverse edge 15 tangent to the curved surface approximately at point 16; By the use of'shaper 17, or other suitable tool, I then shape the outer edge 18 of seat portion 5 and lid portion 6, as shown in Fig. 8', after which boring tool .19 is then employed for the purpose of cutting convex. surface '20 in lid portion 6, as shown in Fig. 11. i The seat portion 5 and lid portion "6 are then-ready for separation by means of saw. 22 or other suitable means, being PlQjGCiiGtl at an angle approximately extend- I ing"from the center 21 between edges'23.

- tively,

and 24 of the seat to a point 25 comprising the intersection of angular surface 26 and curved surface 27 previously formed by shaper 17.

. The usual finishing or sanding process is then proceeded with or the sanding process.

maybe completed after seat portion 5 and lid portion 6, respectively, are assembled as Figs. 10 and 13, by means of dowel pins being inserted in holes 2 and 3, respec of each half portion of the seat and lid it being understood that seat and lid portions 5 and 6, respectively, are made in right and left halves and that the lid is attached to the same side of the seat from' which it is removed whereby the saddle of the seatrelative to the lid is capable of being properly positioned foruse.

While I have shown and described a process for ,manufacturing water closet seats and lids in which half portionsrespectively of the seat and lid are completed at a time, it is apparent that two half cooperating portions of each seat and lid may. be completed reducing the labor cost.

sists primarily in forming a water closet seat and lid from the same boards and with minimum losses of material, thereby con-' siderably reducing the cost of material requ1red in manufacturing the same, as well as The method of manufacturing my water closet seat and lid as heretofore explained in detail. provides a circular hole in the seat. It is apparent that various operations may be resorted to for the purpose of providing an oblong hole 28 in the seat 5, as shown in Fig. 10, and for 29, as shown in Fig. 13, and whichopera tion may comprise the removal of astrip from longitudinal edge 1 of board 1.

In Figs. 15 and 16 1 show a modified forming a oblong lid method of constructing a water closet seat and lid. In Fig. 15 I provide boardsl and 1, respectively, having longitudinal edges 4 and 4t secured together by dowel pins (or other suitable means) combinedly re? ceived in dowel holes 2 and 3, and 2" and 3, respectively,

of each board wherebypracti al effects of'the use of a singleboard is attained. Half seat portions 5 and 5, re--,

spectively, of boards 1 and 1 preferably have outer edges 8 and 8, respectively, formed in a single operation. The outer edges of the half seat portions 5. and 5,"

respectively, may then be formed by suitable 'shaper 17, as shown in Fig. 8, and 'converc'surfaces 20, and 20, respectively, of the boards may then be formedina single operation by suitable boring tool 19, as shown in Fig. 11. after which longitudinal strips- 30 and 30", respectively, may be cut and re moved from longitudinal edges 4 and 4t", respect1vely, of boards 1 and 1, for the pun pose of providing oblonghole 28in seat 5 and oblong lid 29, respectively, as'shown in Figs. 10'and 13. Seat portions 5 and 5. respectively, may then be separated from lid portions 6 and 6 (Fig; 15) by saw 22, as shown in Figs. 12 and 17. The saw may be introduced between the boards are: strips 30 and 30 have been removed there from. i v I i InFig. 16 I show another modified method-of constructing a water closet seat an-zil' lid in which boards 1 and 1 have longitudinal edges 4: and 4, respectively, secured to strip 31 by dowel pins 32 and 32 of the" i received in dowel holes strip, respectively,

Edges 8, and 8,

2 and 2 of-the boards.

respectively, of boards 1' and 1 maybe formedin-one operation and then shaped, as shown in Fig. 8 inanother single operation and-then'convex surfaces 20 and 20 may be formed, as shown in Fig. 11 in vanother single operation, and then seat portions and 5, respectively, may be separated from lid portions 6 and 6, respectively;

' tively, in which support 33 may be secured to a suitable table top (not shown) and has hollow shankB l of T-shaped member 35 secured in hole. 36 of the support.- Member 35 has flange 37 adapted to engage the lowor side 88 of'lid portions 6 and 6 whereby the seat portions and lid portions are adapted toibe maintained in rota-table position by top 89 integral with shank 40, adapted to be tightened in contact with the lid portions by manual operation of hand wheel all threaded to outer end 42 of shank d0. Shank A0 is rotatably mountedin hole 43. in shank ofmember 35 whereby saw 22 may be inserted in opening 44 between the seat portions, and lid portions 6 and 6 maybe separated therefrom by saw 22 in one operation by rotation of the seat and lid portions when positioned, as shown in F 17. Seat portions 5 and 5, respectively and lid portions 6 and 6, respectively, may then be assembled whereby oblong hole 28 is formed in seat 5", as shown in Fig' 10- and oblong lid 2-) is formed, as shown in Fig. 13. v

In Figs. 18 and 19, respectively, I show 7 an open front andopen front and rear toilet seat which may be manufactured by my method.

' It is seen that by cutting the seat outof the centralpartof a board'or boards, as the case may be, at'an angle'whereby the outer portion of the lid' and inner portion of. the seat, respectively, are tapered (as shown in Fig. 12) Iain enabled to produce both a seat and lid of high grade out of raw material of a givendimension instead of forming the seat out of one dimension of stock and the lid out off an entirely different dimension of stock or ra'w material, thus minimizing and reducing'to the lowest possible degree the quantity of waste material which at the present high cost of lumber and the rapidly diminishing quantity of lumber obtainable "for 'this p'ur-pose, becomes an exceedingly important factor which must be COIlSlClGIQCl in the successful and economical manufacture of water closet seats and lids.

I?'u'rthermore, by shaping the top surface of the material with a central convex surface (asvsho'wn in Fig; 11) and then continuing said surface by separating the seat and lid on the line shown in Fig. 12 there-V by showing the end grain the end grain of the grains which are in layers are exposed 175.

to View in substantially uniform fashion, thereby producing an attractive and beaut1- ful surface.

It will thus be seen that I am enabled to produce the highest grade of seat and lid at the lo'westcost. or at the cost of the lowest grade of seat and lid asheretoforemanufactured out of the same grade oflumber.

- In other words I' am enabled to bring out the most beautiful and attractive figures of the lum by the tape-ring out and at the same time obtain a most comfortable seat. for the occupant without great waste of inaterial and at acost ofprod-uction which enables me to-produce all high grade seats and lids at a, minimum of expense; that-is, I am enabled to produce'the, highest grade of seats and lids at even less expense than the present lowest grade of seats are pro duced. Or stating it another way I am enabled to produce from plain sawed oak. a

finished seat and lid having substantially versely' of the grain longitudinally makes a uniform showing of the grain and produces ahigher grade of finished product than plain wood.

By separating the seat and lid, asshown v in Fig. 12; I am enabled to form the topof theseat inrthe most comfortable form for theoccllbant. v. 7

- An advantage of myinventi'on isthata highly desirable and Well designed: water closet seat 'and lid may be manufactured by my method and at at considerably lower cost for materialand labor, than has heretofore been expended 1n making a water closet seat and lid havingordinary appearance 1 15 and design; o

' It is apparent that important steps in my novel process in themethod of makingwater closet seats and lids are simultaneously making the lid which is out from the lumber to form the hole-in the seat.

VVh'fle I have chosen to illustrateapan tieular means by whichthe purposes ofmy invention may be effected, I desire to eme" phasi-ze the fact that the mechanism as herein shown and described is merely for the purpose 'ofneXplain-ingmy novel method of making water closet seats and lids and that various other means are adapted to accomplish the same results.

"separating said lid portion from methodby which my invention may be carried into effect.

WVhile I have described the details of the preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that it is capable of considerable modification without departing from the scope or spirit thereof, as defined in the claims, as for instance, instead of boring the stock to form the inner edge of the seat and the upper central surface of the lid at the same time, the seat and lid may be formed by eliminating that operation and after the lid has been separated from the seat by a saw or other instrument the inner edge of the seat maybe removed to form a hole of the required dimension; and while I have shown and described the seat and lid each made of cooperating halves and suitably secured together, my invention also includes the making of the entire seat and lid out of a single board by cutting the lid out of the central portionjof the seat and utilizing the cut-outportion, preferably reversed to form the lid, the seat and lid being suitably hinged and adapted to cooperate with each other, as

' shown in Fig 14.

' by .Letters Paten't is:

What I'claim as new and desire to secure 1. The processor" making the woodwork for a hinged water closet seat and; lid con sisting in first forming a board, to the required dimension, from which it is desired to secure one-half portion of'said seat and lid, respectively, then forming the outer edge of said'board representing the outer shape of a f half water 7 closet seat,

then shaping said outer edge, then cutting a' recess in said s board thereby forming a semis'circular con- "ven side therein,*then separating said lid portion from said seat portion, and then finishing the surface, then forming in the same manner a cooperating half seat and'lid. v 2. The process of making the woodwork for a hinged water closet seat an'dilid consisting in first forming a board to the required dimension, and adapted to yield onehalf portion of said seat and lid, then formthe outer edge of said board representing-the outer shape of a half water closet seat, then shaping said outer edge, then cutting a recess" 1n said board therebyforming a convex surface semi-c rcular in form, then said, seat portion whereby a one-half lid and one-half for a hinged water closet seat and lid comprising first-forming a board to'ca dimension for obtaining therefrom one-halfv portion of said seat and lid, then boring dowelh'oles in the inner longitudinal edge thereof for the purpose of receiving one-half dowel pin, the

other half of said pins adapted to receive another half portion of said seat and lid, respectively, for securing them together, then forming the outer edge of said board representing the shape of one-half of a water closet seat, then in shapingthe outer edge of said board whereby a rounded edge is obtained, then cutting a recess in said board whereby a convex surface semi-circular in form is provided in said lid portion, then separating said seat portion from said lid portion, then assembling said seat portion and lid portion, respectively, with another seat portion and lid portion formed in the same manner, whereby a completed water closet seat and lid is formed.

4t. A process for producing an opening and a complete cover therefor from a single thickness of material of no greater area than that necessary for enclosing the opening comprising the cutting 'out of the thickness the cover by a cut circumscrib- 7 or piece for ing the piece following the outline of a cone so as to produce a beveled edge of both the opening and of the thickness or piece removed, the thickness of the part enclosing the opening being reduced from the surface at which the opening is the wider so that the wider edge of the piece cut out will lap the opening from which it is removed.v

'5. The process of making the woodwork for .a hinged water closet seat and lid consisting in first forming two boards to-the recloset seat, then cutting a recess in said boards whereby a convex surface approximately semi-circular in formis provided in each of said boards whereby said lid is part- 1y formed, then separating said lid fromsaid seat, then securing said one half seat portions together and said one-half lid por: tions together whereby a water closet seat and lid is formed from two said boards.

CHARLES PFAU. 

